Should Niners adjust to Smith's skill set?

Gwen Knapp

Published
4:00 am PST, Monday, November 23, 2009

The over-hyped tale of two quarterbacks yielded to a subplot Sunday. The main story turned out all too predictably: Aaron Rodgers and the Packers won, confirming his superiority to Alex Smith, whom the 49ers drafted 23 slots ahead of Rodgers in 2005.

The remaining drama was a showdown between Smith and himself, the first-half version versus the second-half model, the pro-set dud versus the shotgun-formation, spread-offense sensation.

First-Half Alex, throwing out of conservative formations, completed 3 of 7 passes for 5 yards and took three sacks. He looked confused, often unable to see open receivers downfield.

Second-Half Alex, playing out of the bolder formation with more wide receivers at his disposal, completed 13 of 26 passes for 222 yards and three touchdowns. He has always looked more comfortable in the shotgun formation, and in some variation of the spread offense he ran as a collegian at Utah.

So why don't the 49ers simply rewrite their playbook to benefit him, scrap the run-first mentality, go to a hurry-up, no-huddle offense, pretending they're the Indianapolis Colts and Smith is Peyton Manning? The second-guessing of the current strategy is bound to grow fervent after Sunday's performance, and at least two receivers said they'd love to see the spread offense permanently installed. Smith, however, balked at the idea of an overhaul.

"No, no," he said quickly when the question arose after the game. "I don't think, in midseason, you want to switch and go to a spread offense."

San Francisco 49ers' Vernon Davis (85) catches a pass in front of Green Bay Packers' Atari Bigby (20) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009, in Green Bay, Wis. The Packers won 30-24. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer) less

San Francisco 49ers' Vernon Davis (85) catches a pass in front of Green Bay Packers' Atari Bigby (20) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009, in Green Bay, Wis. The Packers won ... more

Photo: Mike Roemer, AP

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Should Niners adjust to Smith's skill set?

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With a 4-6 record and only the faintest hope of a playoff spot remaining, the 49ers might not have much to lose by tailoring the offense to a perfect fit for Smith. But it's not clear that a spread offense will complement his talents well enough to make him a top-flight quarterback in the NFL.

He has now played 41/2 games for the 49ers and has had two stunning second halves of football - when he took over for Shaun Hill in Houston and Sunday in Green Bay. Both times, the 49ers were trailing by at least 20 points. The defenses could lighten up. Smith didn't have much to lose. He could just have fun and put on a show, because a win appeared virtually out of reach.

And each time, he interrupted his stretch of brilliance with a devastating interception. On Sunday, it came on a first down from his own 2-yard line, and put the Packers just 11 yards from their final touchdown.

The special teams have to take some heat for that situation, after allowing the awful field position on a punt return. The defense also earned plenty of demerits, allowing 30 points in this game and, worst of all, failing to stop the Packers' running game as it peeled the last 5:50 off the clock.

But that doesn't change the fact that Smith is 1-3 as a starter this season. Nor does it make the case that, if he played entire games in an offense more suited to his collegiate skills, he'd be a winner. Asked whether he'd prefer a spread offense, if it could be implemented in an offseason rather than as part of a midyear rewrite, Smith wisely and somewhat vaguely demurred.

"However you do it, whatever personnel-wise formations, I just think you have to be balanced," he said. "... You have to attack a defense in more than one area. ... There are lots of forms of a spread. What does spread even mean?"

It's not clear whether Smith was simply being careful not to insult his coaches or he knows that it's insulting to assume that he can't deliver the goods in a pro-set offense.

"Yes, I do," rookie Michael Crabtree said, flashing a big smile when asked if he felt at ease in the second-half offense. "I really can do something in that spread. When I was in college, that was all we ran."

"You look at previous games, when we spread the offense, we tend to put points on the board," tight end Vernon Davis said. "We've just got to come out from the beginning and take advantage of things we can take advantage of, and if that means spread the ball, maybe we need to do that. But that's not up to me; that's up to our offensive coordinator."

Coach Mike Singletary said optimism about Smith's performance in the spread offense might be misguided, pointing out the obvious about defenses relaxing with a big lead.

"I think if you were in the basic two-back set, I think you'd probably get the same results," the head coach said, effectively second-guessing the second-guessing. He can only hope that, whatever the 49ers decide, defenses find it harder to adjust to Smith's skills than his own team does.